There might be only a few quicker ways for a leader to lose the respect of their followers than by chasing them. Whether it’s chasing them to get them to volunteer (“It’s ok to tell me ‘no'” is a frequent permission I offer) or to make sure they’re going to meet a deadline or chasing them to make sure they don’t forget what you’ve told them to do; they will know when they have put you in the chase and lose respect for you shortly thereafter.

Pretty soon the leader will have taught the follower that they really don’t have to take the initiative to remember anything for themselves since the leader will remind them.

The leader will have taught their followers how to treat him/her. After an assignment is agreed upon by the leader and his/her own follower, the follower must be held responsible to see that s/he fulfills their part of the agreement without being chased by the leader. No Chasing Allowed!

I’m not saying that this is easy since the performance of your followers does reflect on you.

One more real-world example. As soon as our children were old enough, they received the gift of an alarm clock. They became officially responsible for getting themselves up and ready for school. They just assumed that’s how it worked in every family. They had no idea that some parents cajole and repeatedly call for their children to get up and get ready for school. May your followers break away from any learned dependence they might have on you as a leader and get themselves up for the tasks that are their responsibilities.

Categories: Influence

Tags: influence